Moments after the words were spoken, Azriel’s eyes shot open, blinking as he squinted against the blinding white light that surrounded him.
A sharp throb pulsed in his head. Groaning, he forced himself up with one trembling hand.
‘Wait…!’
His eyes widened as the realization hit him.
“I… I can move!”
Relief flooded through him. He wasn’t forced to watch this time, wasn’t trapped, merely an observer.
“Can I speak…?” he whispered, and then chuckled weakly.
“I can. Good. Didn’t think I’d miss talking this much.”
But as he tried to stand, his legs buckled, weak and unsteady. He collapsed, catching himself with his hands.
“Agh… damn it.”
His body felt drained, wracked with pain and exhaustion. Every inch of him trembled, but somehow his mind felt clearer than before. He breathed in slowly, trying to compose himself.
Azriel attempted to stand again, every muscle shaking violently as he gritted his teeth.
But…
He fell once more onto the soft, white floor.
“Dammit!”
The frustration pulsed through his entire body. Gritting his teeth, he rolled onto his back, breathing heavily.
“Is this… really a memory?”
It felt so real. For a moment, he even wondered if he’d been sent back in time. But he shut down the thought. He didn’t want to think. Not now. Not with memories of his family’s death clawing at the edges of his mind.
He forced himself to focus on his surroundings instead.
The room was suffocatingly white—walls, floor, ceiling, all blending into a soft blur. A small, white bed sat in one corner. A white toilet in another. The door across from him was also blindingly white, barely distinguishable from the walls.
Azriel’s eyes began to tremble as he took it all in.
“I… I need to get out of here… No. No, I can’t stay. I don’t want to remember this. I need to leave.”
A creeping sense of despair washed over him. If he really was going to be stuck here, back in this memory, until he was sixteen… an experiment…
“Where are you, you bastard! Get me out of here! I don’t want to remember this!”
He yelled, hoping the other version of himself might appear, might release him from this nightmare. But no one answered. No voice called back to him.
“Ah… damn it.”
Azriel’s face twisted in frustration as he lay there on the floor, trapped in the silence, surrounded by the endless white.
Disgust churned in his stomach.
The fact that he had to rely on the one who had killed his family—
“Damn it… damn it… this is so messed up…”
His body shuddered, revolted by the emotions surging through him. It was like countless fingers pressing into his chest, reaching for his heart, brushing against it, making him recoil over and over.
He lifted his wounded arm, pressing it over his eyes.
“I can’t break,” he whispered, his voice barely a breath.
Through gritted teeth, he repeated it, over and over.
“I can’t break. I can’t break. I can’t break…”
He kept whispering it, willing himself to stay strong.
Then, a pounding sound echoed from the white metal door. Azriel’s head jerked toward it. The small metal lid on the door slid open, revealing a pair of heterochromic eyes—one blue, one green.
It was the doctor.
“Ah, you’re awake, 666. Good. Very good.” The doctor’s voice oozed satisfaction.
“I was beginning to think you’d waste another day sleeping, like the others…”
The lid closed with a clang, followed by the grinding sound of locks disengaging. With a groan, the white door swung open, and the doctor entered, smiling, his face bare and eyes glinting.
Azriel’s entire body went rigid.
“A-ah…”
This man… he was strong. Incredibly strong. The sheer presence he carried made Azriel’s blood run cold.
‘At least a Master… no, maybe a Grandmaster… or even… a Saint.’
The doctor’s smile only widened as he approached, each step measured, almost leisurely. When he finally stopped, he looked straight down at Azriel, his gaze as cold as it was expectant.
“You seem to have calmed down,” he said, voice calm.
“Perhaps there’s no need for restraints, then? I’d rather avoid using force if I can. So… 666, will you follow me?”
A heavy silence settled between them. Azriel felt the weight of the doctor’s stare, unwavering and cold.
A shiver ran down his spine as he bit his already torn lip. Then, finally, with a slight, reluctant nod, he gave his answer.
The doctor’s smile broadened, pleased.
“Ah, it’s always a relief to work with cooperative subjects. I’ll be personally responsible for you, 666. I trust we’ll build a relationship rooted in… trust. I look forward to it.”
Azriel nodded again, more slowly this time.
‘Did he hear me yelling earlier? Better to act like I can’t speak…’
The doctor gave an approving nod.
“Excellent. Now, 666, let’s get you to the lab.”
Hearing the doctor’s words and watching the way he stepped back, keeping his gaze fixed on him, Azriel had to grit his teeth to keep from glaring.
Slowly, he looked down, pressing his trembling hands to the floor, and forced himself to get up.
Every muscle felt weak and unresponsive; his body was shaking violently, and he could barely move.
‘It must be that damn drug he used…’
Azriel struggled, but he couldn’t. He collapsed back onto the floor, a groan escaping his lips as he clenched his jaw. The doctor only watched, smiling without a hint of impatience.
Humiliation, shame, and anger washed over him, but Azriel looked down, swallowing each feeling.
He tried again. And again. Each time, he failed. Until, on the sixth attempt, his legs finally held, trembling so violently he feared they would give way at any moment.
The doctor nodded approvingly, then turned and began to walk away. Azriel followed, gritting his teeth and feeling his legs burn with every step.
As they moved down the hall, Azriel glanced around, catching sight of the identical white doors embedded in the white walls, just like his own cell.
‘So… there are other people here. Other subjects…’
Seeing it all—feeling it this intensely—Azriel found a grim satisfaction in knowing Zoran was dead.
Neo Genesis was far more inhumane than he had imagined. The thought of people used as lab rats sickened him.
‘One day, I’ll make them pay. I swear, I’ll make them all suffer.’
Silently vowing, Azriel looked away from the doors and kept his focus on following the doctor. They soon arrived at a lab—one Azriel remembered all too well.
He stopped at the door, watching the doctor walk inside. Noticing Azriel’s hesitation, the doctor turned with that same, unnerving smile.
“You can come in. I won’t bite.”
Nodding slightly, Azriel stepped into the lab, his heart pounding as he scanned his surroundings.
Fear twisted inside him, but there was nothing he could do.
“Lie down on the bed. I’ll explain everything.”
Azriel held the doctor’s gaze for a moment, then walked toward the bed and lay down. In seconds, the doctor strapped him down, his limbs bound tight to prevent any escape.
“This is just so you don’t harm yourself. No need to worry.”
But Azriel felt anything but reassured. Enjoy exclusive chapters from m-v l’e-NovelFire
The doctor sat beside him, leaning forward with a calm, unsettling smile.
“Congratulations, 666. You’ve been chosen to be part of Project New Eden. Soon, you’ll become one of the super soldiers capable of surviving in the new world to come… if you are successful, that is, of course.”